The Darkness Inside
by Archer83
Summary: When a routine rescue mission aboard strange derelict vessel goes horribly wrong, the crew of the Enterprise bring back far more than a sole survivor. Now it's up to them to stop the malevolent force aboard their ship from spreading to the rest of the galaxy.


**The Darkness Inside**

 **By: Archer83 and Vergil1989 the Crossover King**

 **Summary:** When a routine rescue mission aboard strange derelict vessel goes horribly wrong, the crew of the _Enterprise_ bring back far more than a sole survivor. Now it's up to them to stop the malevolent force aboard their ship from spreading to the rest of the galaxy.

 **Disclaimer:** Neither author owns Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, or Event Horizon. I do however personally own the nightmares I had after seeing Event Horizon for the first time as a kid.

 **Author's Notes:** _ **Archer83**_ _: Do you see?! ... how few crossovers there are for Event Horizon on FF? After I came up with this idea, Vergil was nice enough to point out that there is indeed_ ONE _on FF lol. Fair warning, this is rated Mature for a reason people. If you saw the film, that's a given._

 _ **Vergil1989**_ _: This is Archer's insanity, not mine, I'm just the poor bastard about to descend into madness with him. I plan to jump ship before the gravity drive drags us into Hell though lol. In all seriousness, we'll see what happens I suppose, but with so few stories under this particular movie, I'm not holding my breath for a lot of feedback. Still, we do this far more for fun than feedback, although I enjoy the reviews personally lol. Anyway, enjoy the ride, and the nightmare fuel. Adios!_

 **Chapter 1: The Edge of Sanity**

 **USS** _ **Enterprise**_ **, Captain's Quarters**

"Captain's Log, stardate 2260.47. We've arrived on the edge of the neutral zone, where we've picked up a strange gravitic disturbance on our long range sensors. Starfleet has ordered us to investigate, on the off chance we get another ship from the future hell bent on making our lives interesting, but according to Spock, the readings don't match up. ... Computer delete last sentence. Starfleet has ordered us to investigate and I have decided to proceed with caution given our proximity to Klingon space. That and there was that awkward incident on Kronos with the 'better' super human prick a while back, so the locals might be a bit touchy if they catch us out here. ... Computer delete last sentence."

Kirk had to smile ruefully at his new habit of correcting his own logs. It was a new habit, but one that would protect his ass if he was called before the Starfleet brass to answer for any future indiscretions on his part. His close call with Khan had made him a better captain, but his habit of getting his ship and crew into trouble, at times with deadly consequences, had painted a target on his back as far as some in the Admiralty were concerned. Most of the time though he'd been pretty lucky, getting out of trouble almost as quickly as he got into it, but Jim had always jumped into danger when he believed it was the right course, or rather the only course available at the time in his opinion.

Catching his reflection in the nearby mirror, Jim grimaced when he saw the small, dark shadows under his eyes. The job hadn't been kind to him, but dying tended to have that effect on anyone. _Wonder if I should have Scotty scrub these logs for me..._ Kirk idly thought as he splashed a handful of cold water in his face. _I'm totally screwed if even half my erased entries stay in the permanent data archive._

As the lighting dimmed in his quarters and the Yellow Alert klaxon sounded, Jim knew he would be hearing Spock's voice any moment now and wasn't disappointed. "Captain Kirk, please report to the bridge." The monotone half vulcan stated, to which Kirk tapped at his comm badge.

"On my way Spock. What's up?" Jim asked as he made his way through the clean white halls of his vessel.

"We have arrived at the site of the gravidic disturbance Captain. Long range sensors have detected a heavily damaged vessel. There is only one clear life sign aboard, but the background radiation from the ship's damaged core is making it difficult to discern much else."

Kirk frowned as he stepped into the turbolift. It was rare for Spock to sound uncertain, but Jim had detected the slightest tremor in his science officer's report. That alone made him worry. "Bridge. Spock. Why do you sound confused? You know that freaks me out."

"The life sign we have detected... seems to inhabit the entire vessel. I must logically assume our sensor readings are in error. I would strongly advise against an attempt to beam aboard the derelict at this time."

"Alright, we'll go EVA and see what we can turn up." _Finally! Something besides writing up reports and running on cold coffee._ Smirking as he exited the lift, Kirk strolled over to his concerned looking first officer. "What's the damage Spock? You haven't gotten this twitchy since Khan tried to kill us all. Then there was that tribble incident-"

"I would remind you, Captain, that he successfully terminated your life for approximately eighteen minutes thirty-four seconds. Of course, you already know this, having experienced it first hand." Spock retorted, the barest hint of a smirk on his face when Jim crossed his arms and shook his head at the witty comeback. "As for the derelict, I believe we will be in visual range in four seconds." He nodded towards the view screen, just as Chekov pulled up the enhanced image right on cue.

Kirk wasn't the only one that was riveted by the sight before them as a massive, slowly rotating object came into view. "What happened to it?" He heard Uhura ask as she slowly stood to her feet.

"The wessel is adrift sir, detecting minimal power readings, gravity and life support appear to be offline." Chekov stated and looked up from his station.

"That's impossible, there's life signs all over what's left." Sulu's eyes narrowed as he gazed at the tumbling wreck. "Sir, may I suggest cautionary holding distance." No one was saying it, but everyone was feeling uneasy around the site of the vessel. Something was off about this whole thing.

"No need to be jumpy Lieutenant, but better safe than sorry." Jim offered with a nod, as he took his seat. "Take us within ten thousand kilometers and hold there for now. Maybe a closer reading will give us a few more answers before we try and board."

"Picking up a faint signal, a recording of some kind. Possibly a distress beacon." Uhara informed them before turning to her station, her fingers already flying over the keyboard in front of her in an effort to get a clear reading. "There's a lot of interference, but there's definitely something out there. I'll try to clean it up as best I can."

"Take your time Lieutenant, nobody seems in a hurry to get much closer anyway." Kirk quipped, and was surprised not to hear even the slightest sign of amusement from his bridge crew. Even he found it hard to keep a smile on his face as he swept his gaze over the ruins of the vessel. Only the engineering section was left, but that alone had his mind flashing to a massive, heavily damaged klingon bird of prey. "Anyone else think this thing looks slightly klingon? Looks like the living areas and the bridge were connected to a long neck section of some sort."

"It would make the most logical sense Captain, if the engine core was possibly unstable or experimental. The crew decks could be severed and used as a life boat in the case of an emergency."

Chekov glanced over his shoulder at Spock, gesturing towards the ominous sight in front of them. "But vhere is the crew sir? I am not detecting any other signals or debris on sensors."

"It would seem they were forced to evacuate, possibly while the vessel was traveling at warp. If so, that would explain the absence of any other sensor contacts or wreckage."

"Captain, I can just barely make out part of the message it sounds like... latin?" Uhura said with a confused glance towards Kirk while doing her best to decipher the garbled dead language. It didn't help that there were howling and ominous growls in the background, along with horrible screams of terror and agony. "Oh my God, it says... 'save me' sir, best I can tell."

"Well, that's enough for me Lt. Uhura. Bridge to Sickbay, Bones, you feel up for a little walk?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" The cantankerous medical officer grumbled into the comms on his end.

"Grab your best medic and report to shuttle bay Doctor." Kirk couldn't keep a slight grin off his face as he heard Bones muttering curses in the background before ending the comm. "Security team three to the shuttle bay, looks like we have ourselves a search and rescue mission ladies and gentlemen."

"Aye aye sir." The crisp voice of Lieutenant Keleson replied as she gathered her team.

"Captain, I would quote regulation, but I am certain you would, as is usual, ignore my recommendation."

"Spock, we have a number of unknown survivors aboard that vessel. There's precedence to do our best to rescue them to the best of our ability." When the vulcan raised an eyebrow, Kirk smirked in response. "I _have_ read the rule book a couple times Spock, I just choose to ignore it on a regular basis."

Sulu abruptly stood at his post, instantly grabbing Kirk's attention as he moved to get up. "Sir, permission to accompany you on the away team."

"Don't worry so much Sulu, I highly doubt we're going to run into any bad guys with swords. But if you feel the need, I won't stop you." Kirk replied and patted Sulu on his shoulder on his way by to the turbolift. "Mr. Spock, you have the bridge, keep us posted if anything comes up."

"Of course Captain." The vulcan stated as he sat in the command chair, a flicker of concern flashing in his brown eyes as he watched Sulu and Kirk depart the bridge. Kirk nodded his head, having caught the look in the vulcan's eyes. Even if he acted otherwise, Jim had a bad feeling about this mission.

 **USS** _ **Enterprise**_ **, Main Shuttlebay.**

Dressed in a dark blue EVA suit, Kirk clamped down the suit's helmet before turning to the shuttle, where the boarding party was currently gathering. "Everybody double check your suit seals and oxygen tanks, we might be on that derelict for a while." Jim stated as he checked his own gear, glancing at the holographic readout on his arm, and smiled when he saw that his tanks were at full and all systems were green.

"I _hate_ you." McCoy muttered, giving Jim the mother of all death glares as he finished checking his own suit before glancing over at Nurse Chapel. "Be sure to check your auxiliary tank, helluva bad day if you get a suit puncture without a full one."

"Relax Christine, he's just irritable today. Is this where you tell her about the blood boiling thing? _Never_ get sick of that one."

"Very funny. Let's see if you're laughing when-" McCoy started as he tossed another med kit into the shuttle.

"My eyeballs start bleeding? You're getting predictable Bones." Jim replied, a grin plastered on his face that didn't quite reach his eyes. "'Sides, these things are designed to withstand micro meteor impacts, I don't think we have anything to worry about unless the rest of the ship goes up with us in it."

"Now there's a comforting thought." Chapel muttered as she sealed her helmet.

"Don't worry ma'am, my team will go in first and secure the ship, or least what's left of it." The security chief stated as she boarded the shuttle with Jim right behind her. Keleson made it a point to check her phaser rifle over and catch a couple extra power packs from one of her teammates when they were offered before stuffing them into her belt pouch. Securing her rifle to her back, Keleson nodded to Kirk, her green eyes fixated to the front. She gave the impression of a predator judging the distance from her prey. The scar over her right eye only added to the predatorial image, even if the rest of her face was rather pretty.

"Along with our courageous moron of a Captain of course." Bones growled as he strapped Chapel into her seat before grabbing the one next to her.

Twisting around on his pilot's seat, Sulu glanced back towards Kirk. "I've looked over the scans of the ship sir, and I think I can dock with the forward airlock. It doesn't seem too badly damaged from whatever explosion must have separated the ship."

Settling into the seat next to him, Kirk gave Sulu a slap on the back. "Great. Everybody just enjoy the ride, and thank for flying air Sulu." Kirk smirked at the grin this managed to get out of the wary pilot as they gently lifted off the deck and streaked out of the shuttlebay. "Kirk to _Enterprise,_ we've begun our approach."

"Commander Spock to shuttle crew, we read you on our sensors. You should arrive at the derelict in a minute and forty three seconds at present speed."

With a grin, Kirk gestured for Sulu to increase their speed. "Didn't copy that, what's our ETA again?"

"One minute forty- correction, fifty-seven seconds. I strongly advise you to decrease speed immediately. Half impulse at this proximity is not recommended."

"Relax Spock, we're just saving a little time."

" _Enterprise_ out." Spock curtly responded before cutting the link.

Bones suddenly spoke up, his voice wreaking with sarcasm. "I think you actually managed to piss off the green blooded hobgoblin Jim. Nice going."

"I'm sure Lt. Uhura won't have anything to say about that." Keleson quipped as she double checked her power cell. "Scuttlebutt has it they have quite the interesting love life."

"Really now? Do tell." Jim eagerly inquired, his interest all but shining in his blue eyes when he turned to face the redhead security chief.

Keleson chuckled, seemingly immune to her captain's attempt at flattery. "Sorry sir, but I'm not about to divulge any private information that may or may not have happened. Also, it turns out vulcan nerve pinches really sting, the Commander was nice enough to give me a practical demonstration."

"Duly noted Chief." Kirk shuddered and rubbed at the side of his neck, remembering all too clearly the sensation of being dropped to the deck by Spock years earlier. "I can personally attest to that being true, _not_ a sensation I'd want to feel again either."

"How long till we'll be allowed onboard?" Chapel asked, obviously concerned about getting to any possible survivors as quickly as possible.

"Give my people five minutes to secure, then she's all yours doc." Keleson promised just as the shuttle umbilical was attached to the outer airlock. A slight thud was felt in the small ship when the locks were engaged, ensuring they weren't about to vent atmosphere when they opened the door. "Hardlock looks good, we should be able to get in, restore what life support they have left, and get out with whoever's onboard. Fire team, on me, we go in first. If anything looks at you funny, shoot first and ask questions later. Gomez, Sanders take the corridors and check out the engine pods. Hennessy and I will take the core and surrounding areas."

"I think you might be forgetting something Chief?" Kirk asked with a smirk as he started to get up, only for Keleson to shove him back in his seat and activate his magboots, locking him in place.

"I don't know what type of operation my predecessor, Security Chief Hendorff, was running sir, but only an idiot lets their Captain go with the initial away team. You and your boys are staying here until we secure the derelict. If you don't like it, you can send me in for court martial, otherwise, sit tight and shut up."

"Yes ma'am. You know, I'm really starting to miss Cupcake." Kirk replied, astonished and rather impressed by Keleson's take charge attitude. "As for court martialing ya Keleson, I think I'd rather propose to you first."

"I'm married to my job sir." Keleson chuckled as she tapped at the control console beside the door. "And besides, I hear one night stands are more your style." Kirk only shrugged, not about to argue the point as the inner airlock on the shuttle opened, allowing Keleson and her team through. "Pressurizing's taking its sweet time. I hate waiting for the door to open." Keleson grumbled once the door shut behind her, sealing her and her team in the small chamber as the airlock cycled, preparing them for the environment before them.

"Well it's either that or we explode when pressurization doesn't sync up Lt. Keleson." Bones told her in a lecturing voice. "Which would you prefer?"

"Make sure you stop by Sickbay later to get some cream for the burn Eel Tee." Gomez said with a snicker as she took point the moment the inner airlock door opened. The moment it did, she gasped out a curse. "Jesus! It looks like a damn meat grinder in here." From the helmet cam feed, the shuttle crew could only agree with Gomez's assessment. The corridor that was laid out before them did indeed look like something out of a 20th century meat grinder. The walls were covered in metal spikes that spun clockwise, flooding the entire hallway in flashing pinpricks of light and the occasional spark.

"Sure you guys don't need any help back there?" Kirk asked with a grin as he busied himself overriding Keleson's lock out on his suit controls.

"Completely sir." Gomez muttered as she stepped into a long, dark tunnel, cautiously testing the catwalk with a mag boot before taking a step forward. "I don't like this ma'am. Feels like we're walking into a klingon ambush." Gomez stated, and took another step down the corridor.

Only for a section of the catwalk to give away with a loud screech. Acting on instinct, Gomez deactivated her mag boots while Keleson grasped her by the back of her suit. With no gravity to hold her, Gomez leisurely floated above the moving spikes, but that didn't stop her from letting out a massive sigh of relief. "I gotcha Erica, just hold on." Keleson calmly said before lowering Gomez onto the catwalk beside her. "Still glad you took point?" Gomez shot Keleson a one finger salute in response, which she responded to by chuckling and patting the woman on her shoulder.

"Alright, enough of this waiting around bullshit." Kirk growled as he deactivated his mag boots and floated free in the cabin next to Sulu for a moment before slipping out of his seat and reactivating them with a loud THUNK.

"Your funeral." Sulu quietly said to himself, not nearly suicidal enough to cross their new Security Chief during only the third month out of a five year mission. Keleson was not Herdoff, she was far stricter and far less likely to take any unwelcome complications lightly.

"Thanks for the support." Jim muttered as he rapidly made his back to the airlock.

"Jim, what the hell do you think you're doing, let Security do their jobs for once!" Bones growled, even though he understood all too clearly why Jim wasn't willing to sit on the sidelines. They had lost too many good men and women since they had started on the Enterprise, and despite all his faults, Jim wasn't willing to lose anymore.

Ignoring McCoy, Kirk shoved his way past Sanders and Hennessy, deactivating his mag boots and lightly floating over the damaged walkway before landing with a soft magnetic thump on the other side. Keleson spun on her heel while Gomez looked over her shoulder, only for both women to glare at the captain. "Sir, unless you want me to strike a superior asshole, I suggest you get back on that shuttle now." It wasn't a suggestion, not going by the calm, ice filled tone in Keleson's voice.

"No can do Chief, not when any of my crew are walking into trouble. If we're doing it, we're going together or not at all." Jim replied as confidently as he could even as Keleson raised her rifle to her shoulder. He took only a little relief from the fact that he saw it was set to stun judging by the blue light glowing around the emitter, on the off chance she actually decided to shoot him. From the death glare she was giving him, Kirk wasn't about to bet one way or the other.

"Wish I had a bar of gold pressed latinum for every time he must've said _that_ one." Bones snarked from inside the shuttle airlock. "I'd be able to retire and quit this insanity I call a job."

"But then who would replace your gentle bedside manner Doctor?" Sanders pleaded in a mocking tone as the hulking blonde officer made a point of nudging Bones behind him.

Keleson meanwhile growled a curse under her breath, even if she was touched by Kirk's willingness to stand beside her and her team. "Fine, but when the shit hits the exhaust port, I'm gladly telling you I told you so." With that, she spun forward to face the door ahead of them just as Gomez plugged into the control console with her suit's onboard computer.

"Fair enough." With a glance towards the far hatch, Kirk pulled out his phaser and waited for the women to advance while he covered them. "So, what do you lovely ladies think behind creepy door number one?" He asked, hoping to lighten the mood, only to receive another death glare from Keleson for his trouble. "Forget I asked."

"Considering I'm tryin' real hard not to shoot you sir, that's probably a good idea."

"Got it!" Gomez shouted triumphantly before disconnecting herself from the archaic looking door controls and raising her rifle alongside Keleson. She was the first to see the mess on the other side when the door split apart into four pieces and disappeared into the frame around it.

"What the hell..." Keleson muttered as she stepped into the dark chamber beyond, immediately captivated by the large metallic spinning mass dominating the center of it. Encircled by three rotating rings, each of which flashed with lights around their perimeter anytime they aligned around the orb, the sphere in the center also spun about on its axis, covered in small spikes and metal protrusions. The floating globules of dark brown coolant and long coagulated blood from the lack of gravity was also hard to miss, giving the entire chamber a gothic, ominous feel to it. "What happened in here?" Keleson asked as her emerald eyes darted all over the room.

"Got a body!" Gomez shouted before motioning the rest of the team over to a peacefully floating woman who had left an indent in the metal catwalk where she had fallen. "Woman, late thirties, looks like she took a long fall from the upper levels of engineering, if that's what this even what this is. I've never seen a warp core like this before, not even in any of our old history classes."

"Scotty you seeing this?" Kirk asked, having since patched the genius engineer into their helmet feeds.

"Seein' and hearin' loud and clear captain, still workin' on believing though. That's no warp drive, I'd bet my last shiny penny on it. Magnetic resonance rings of some kind, maybe holdin' back whatever's in that wee nightmare ball in there with ya. I'd have to get a closer look at it to get a better idea of what's in it though. Personally though Cap'n, I don't like the look of it one bit."

"Yeah you and me both Scotty." Kirk jumped as he felt something tap against his back, only to spin and see Hennessey's grinning face.

"Careful there sir, might want to watch your step." Ignoring Kirk's glare, the security officer pointed to the burnt and twisted metal surrounding the strange looking core.

"Cut the bullshit Hennessey." Keleson stated, drawing a quick apology from the officer. "Alright, we still haven't found the life sign we detected on the Enterprise, so we're going to do this by the numbers. Two man teams, split up and don't let each other out of sight. We find this poor bastard if they're still alive, and we get out, then we blow this thing to Hell."

Spock wasn't so quick to agree with the last part of Keleson's order. "Forgive me Chief Keleson, but we still don't know where this derelict came and how it survived for as long as it has. We need to further study and investigate its unique technology, in the hopes of-"

"Commander Spock, forgive me for being so blunt, but you wouldn't be so eager to examine this thing if you were in here with us. My job is to protect the ship and her crew, and I say this thing is a threat to both. Now I'm going to do my job the best way I see fit, and I say this thing needs a good torpedo refit."

"I will note your objections in the log." Spock replied, making it subtly clear he didn't approve of Keleson's highly illogical need to destroy a possibly significant discovery, but he did agree that the safety of the ship and crew came first.

Kirk shrugged and slapped Keleson on the shoulder. "He really grows on you. Promise."

"If you say so sir. You're with me, we'll check out the ventilation and access shafts down that way." Keleson gestured to the nearby open access hatch she had since spotted. The green glowing shaft in the distance cast more shadow than actual light, but their helmets would make up the difference.

"Alright." Kirk replied, not about to argue with Keleson, even if something in the pit of his stomach recoiled at the idea of being in there, even with the heavily armed marine leading the way. "But you three are sticking together." Kirk gave the security team members a nod, already feeling the searing heat of Keleson's glare on the back of his helmet. "If the Chief thinks that's a good idea of course."

"I said teams of _two_. I want us in and out as fast as possible and Lt Sulu, kindly get back to your post sir." It was not negotiable, but Sulu only nodded his head as he ran back to join the medical team, a hand having never left the collapsible sword hilt on his belt.

"Don't worry about it kid." Bones told him with a reassuring nod as the chastised pilot slipped past him into the cockpit.

Keleson meanwhile knelt down and slipped into the access hatch, her rifle at the ready. Kirk was right behind and a little to her right, his gaze fixed ahead as they began to navigate the narrow, cramped corridors before them. It didn't take them long to find where someone had tried to make repairs to one of the power junctions. "Looks like they tried to save this thing first before they had to blow it apart." Kirk stated as he peered closely at the conduits before him. "Not that it did them a lot of good."

"Gomez here Chief, we're searching the upper decks now, nothing so far. Doesn't seem to be any fire damage up here."

"Keep me posted." No sooner were the words out of her mouth did Keleson stop, her ears straining when she could have sworn she heard something in the darkness ahead of them. Just when Kirk started to open his mouth, she silenced him with a subtle wave of her hand. Raising her rifle, her emerald eyes fixed straight ahead, Keleson slowly proceeded further, leaving Kirk to watch her back.

Going around a corner in the shaft, Keleson stopped when she caught sight of something that shouldn't have been there. "What the hell?" She cursed as she knelt down and picked up a metal collar from the shaft floor. "What is an orion slave collar doing here?" She mused aloud, only to drop it when a loud bang made her jerk her rifle towards the noise, deeper down the shaft. "Come out or I light your ass up!"

"They give you any lessons on not giving away your position in Security 101 Chief?" Kirk asked, and jumped back when Keleson rounded on him, her rifle just stopping inches from his face. "Whoa! Easy Chief, it's just me!"

"Don't… do that." The officer growled before jerking her rifle away, and let her gaze fall to where she had dropped the collar. Only it wasn't there, there was only the dust from their bootprints to suggest they'd been there at all. "Did you see…."

"See what? All I saw was you Chief, looking pretty spooked. You alright?"

"Nevermind, we're wasting time." Shaking her head, Keleson continued to crawl forward on her knees and elbows with her rifle at the ready.

"Everything alright Chief? Thought we heard something down there." Gomez asked through the comms, concern easily heard in her voice as she and her team continued their own search of the rest of the engineering levels.

"We're fine." She snapped, her agitation getting the better of her. Realizing this, she forced herself to take a deep breath, then a second before she replied. "Just continue your search... and let me know if you find anything strange."

"You mean besides the entire ship ma'am?" Sanders quipped.

"What's left of it you mean." Hennessey retorted.

"Cut the chatter you two, checking mid deck now. Upper deck is clear Chief." Gomez informed them, quick to step in before her already irritated CO could.

"Very good. We're continuing our sweep, let's meet up in five minutes, then we're out of here." Keleson replied, having regained some of her composure at last as she and Kirk continued forward. Except when she turned around, Jim had paused at the junction they had just passed. "Captain?"

Kirk didn't hear her, and instead crawled away at a brisk pace. He was sure he'd seen something slip around the intersection just ahead. "I'm gonna check something out, only take a second." Without another glance back, Jim ran ahead as fast as he could in the cramped access shaft.

"Great." Keleson grumbled and did her best to keep up, already regretting her decision to not blow away the derelict when they had the chance instead of searching for someone that may or not be alive. She was guessing they weren't, not with the current state of the vessel to suggest as much anyway.

"Huh. Got nothin' over here, we should probably-" In an instant, the access tunnel went pitch black, the immediate area around them lit only by their small head lamps. "Spock, what's going on?"

"It seems there has been an immense power drain, originating from the core of the vessel Captain. Perhaps a malfunction caused by your investigation? I can only speculate at this time without further evidence."

"So basically he doesn't know." Keleson growled as she focused on the beam of light she could just see ahead of her. She hoped it was Kirk, but with the way their day had gone, she wasn't so sure. Something was seriously wrong on this ship.

"Correct. Perhaps I should send an additional team to-"

"No, I don't want anyone else on this ship." Keleson interrupted Spock, not about to have anymore people running through this wasp nest waiting to be disturbed. She breathed a little easier though when she saw Kirk in front of her, blinking away his head lamp light when he shined it in her face.

Kirk stared at her for a moment, shocked to see the slightest hint of fear in her emerald gaze. "Alright, we're almost done anyway. Let's get the hell out of here Chief."

"All away team members, report to the shuttle ASAP. We're leaving." Keleson nodded her thanks to Kirk after ordering her teams to bug out and get back to the shuttle.

"Aye aye, ma'am. Just finishing our final sweep now." Gomez replied, not about to argue since she wanted to get out of the derelict almost as badly as her chief did.

Deactivating her suit comm and pressing her face plate against Kirk's, Keleson frowned and hesitantly spoke up. "Earlier, when we crawled in here, I thought I saw something. Are you sure you didn't-"

"Lieutenant Kel- Rebecca. Only thing I saw was you waving that oversized cannon around. There's nothing here, whatever happened we missed it. Well, besides the weird power drain from the core anyway." Which Kirk nodded to the flickering green access shaft they were only then coming to the end of at last. Kirk flicked his suit comm back on with a frown. "Speaking of which, hey Spock, got any idea of how long we have until main power goes down? ... Commander?"

"-ock to Cap- ik com- ing jamm- gest you ret- uttle immed-" The crackling that was filtering over Spock's voice intensified, giving a horrible screech over their suit radios which forced both Jim and Rebecca to cry out before the line went dead.

"Shit, comms are down." Keleson growled as she slapped at her own suit comm switch before clambering out of the shaft two seconds ahead of Jim. No sooner had her feet touched the coolant that still clung to the metal hull however, did the engineering deck started to shake violently just as the core's rings aligned, and stopped. "We got something here people! Gomez, Hennessey, report!" The other officers ran into the chamber no sooner than the words left her mouth.

"Here Chief!" Gomez shouted as she leveled her rifle on the core and started to back away with Keleson at her side and Kirk just behind them. "What's our play ma'am?"

"Nobody goes near that thing." Sanders grunted, reading his boss's mind as he and Hennessey fell in beside the rest of the group.

"Right, I don't care if Spock tells me we turned down the discovery of the century, we're leaving. Now." Unfortunately, Jim had only just started to turn to lead the way out of the chamber when the core… pulsed, sending out a wave of destruction that instantly knocked everyone from their feet. Sparks flew all over the chamber, nearly blinding the group as they were sent tumbling head over heels before coming to a stop either against each other or against the sides of the chamber. "What the Hell was that?! Away team, sound off!" Jim groaned once he was sure the worst had past.

"Here, I'm alright." Keleson growled as she pushed herself to her feet before helping Jim up.

"Twisted my damn ankle sir, but I'm good." Gomez muttered with a hiss of pain.

"I'm good." Hennessey groaned as he got back to his feet.

Keleson's green eyes narrowed at the silence that followed. "Sanders? Anybody see Sanders?!" Only when she turned her gaze on the core did her heart drop to her stomach. It was open, and inside was a black pool of some kind of thick goo, darker than the furthest reaches of starless space. Whatever was in that thing made the derelict itself seem far more inviting. "What are we looking at?"

"I have no idea." Jim said, answering Keleson's rhetoric question, mesmerized by the black pool inside the core. Snapping out of his daze, Jim waved his hand to encompass the room while bringing up his phaser. "Spread out! Sanders! Sanders can you hear me! Respond! That's an order!"

"Wha-huh? HOly shit!" Kirk had a good idea where Sanders had disappeared to when he noticed a section of the now pooling coolant start to splash. "I think I got knocked out, all this damn coolant smashed into me when that wave hit us. I'm okay sir, just have to get myself out of this mess."

"Sanders….move away from the core." Keleson ordered softly, having seen the surface of the black pool move ever so slightly. "I think there's something in there."

"Huh? I can't see Eel Tee, not with all this crap on my face plate." Sanders protested and started to try and bat away as much of the glob of dark brown coolant that was in his way.

Kirk let out a sigh of relief when the man climbed up to one of the narrow catwalks surrounding the core, then frowned as he saw what direction Sanders was blindly headed in. "Ensign, stop!"

The muscular blonde went rigid at Kirk's command, his hand mere millimeters from the abyssal liquid void at the center of the locked rings. "Thanks sir, I owe you on- what the, my hand's stuck... I can't get it free. I think-something's got me!" The moment the terrified words left his mouth, Sanders was viciously yanked into the blackness right before their eyes.

Keleson was the first to slam a hand down on Jim's shoulder when he started for the core. "He's gone! We have no idea what that thing is and we don't know how to get him back! For all we know he's already dead!"

"So you're just going to leave him in there?!" Kirk screamed as he grabbed a spool of emergency tether line and hooked one end against a solid looking metal panel before walking towards the center of the chamber.

"I didn't say I wouldn't try Captain, but we need to know what the Hell that thing is before we lose anyone else!" Keleson roared right back before lowering her head ever so slightly. "I never leave people behind, not if I have a choice." With that, she grabbed the wire attached to Kirk, unsnapping it from his belt before tossing the end of it into the black void.

Seconds passed, then a minute. Just as Kirk was getting tempted to rip the spool off of Keleson's suit, there was a tug on the line. "Everybody pull!" With the four of them tugging on the thin cable, it wasn't long before the void started shimmering with an internal disturbance of some kind. "Come on, faster dammit!"

"Meetin' a lot of resistance Chief, something's fighting us in there!" Gomez shouted back, but it only spurred her to tug harder. "Come on you bitch, let go of him!" She growled, and slammed her feet down hard, bracing herself better as she and the rest of the team started to slowly but surely walk backward with every yank.

Just as suddenly as the fight had started, it ended when Sanders was spat out. He wasn't the only one though, much to their surprise, when another man, the end of the line in his grip, pulled Sanders along with him out of the black void. The moment they hit the ground, the suitless dark skinned man slumped and fell to the deck hard. "Get a breather on him now!" Kirk ordered, but Keleson was way ahead of him as she pulled out an emergency breather mask and slammed it over their unexpected guest's face.

"Sanders!" Gomez shouted, having gone to check on their own slumped over crew mate. Turning him onto his back, she was the first to see the lifeless look in his eyes. "He's breathing, but he's gone catatonic from what I can tell."

"He's... seen." The man that had pulled him out slurred before falling unconscious.

Kirk almost jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand slap him hard on the shoulder. "God dammit man, help me get him on the stretcher!" Bones yelled, already pointing towards the 'meat grinder' hallway, where the shuttle was waiting. "That pulse, whatever the hell it was, almost fried the damn shuttle, but Sulu was able to get her running. We need to go, now!"

"Alright alright Bones, let's go." Kirk replied and helped him and Nurse Chapel get their two patients ready for transport back to the _Enterprise_. Time slowed down to a brief crawl though when his gaze fell on the dark skinned comatose man they had pulled out with Sanders. Something in the pit of his stomach recoiled at the sight of him, and Jim almost opened his mouth to tell Leonard and Christine to leave him to rot.

A whack to the back of his head brought Kirk out of his dark thoughts. "Stop daydreaming dammit and help!" Jim could only numbly nod his head as he assisted Bones and Chapel while Keleson, Gomez and Hennessey carried their unconscious fellow officer towards the shuttle.

"Spock to away team, please respond."

"Kirk here! It's good to hear your voice Commander." The relief was palpable in Jim's voice as he paused long enough to address the vulcan. "We're on our way back, have medical prepare for two patients, we found our survivor but one of our own was injured in the process. Condition ah... I'm gonna go with unknown."

"Medical has been alerted. We are also reading a massive build up of gravitons in your immediate vicinity, I highly recommend you evacuate." Spock stated, a scan of the derelict laid out before his console which showed the buildup in question originating from the core. "Remaining inside the chamber could result in you being lost inside what I hypothesize to be an artificial singularity."

"Christ, _what is it_ with us and these things?" Jim retorted and was the first to jump across the gap in the catwalk before turning to assist the rest of the team over. Piling into the shuttle as fast as they could, Jim had already plopped down next to Sulu who had long since warmed up the engines. "Get strapped down and hold onto something!"

"We're in! Sulu, punch it!" Bones shouted back just as he got their two patients secured for the rough ride back to the _Enterprise_.

Glancing at the rear view screen on his console, Sulu was the first to see the dark, shimmering disturbance when the derelict rapidly began to crumple into a tangled ball of twisted wreckage. Her starboard engine pod the last section to give into the extreme stress and be crushed down to the size of a neutron by the singularity at the blackhole's center. Just as Kirk started to wonder if they'd have to drop the _Enterprise's_ warp core into the blackhole like last time in order to seal it shut, whatever had powered its creation seemed to give out, dispersing the crushing gravity field in all directions. A split second later the shuttle bucked hard, sending anyone not firmly strapped down slamming against the deck.

"We are not….going anywhere near….ancient derelicts again." Keleson groaned when she was sure they weren't about to burn up and explode at any moment. "I'm putting that in my official log."

"Ditto." McCoy grouched as he slumped back into his seat, relieved they were still breathing after this latest round of insanity.

"Oh come on guys! It wasn't that bad-" Kirk paused when several irked gazes, set to kill, seared into him. "Okay... maybe it was. But we're all here, we're alive, and we even found the guy we were after. I say we had a pretty good day."

"Says the perpetual man child we foolishly call a Captain." Bones muttered darkly before turning his attention to the muscular, dark skinned individual they had pulled out of the derelict. "Any ideas who Sleeping Ugly is?"

Any identifying marks on what was left of his uniform were too damaged to make anything out. Until he woke up again, they likely wouldn't find out who he was or what had happened on that ship, let alone why anyone had been working with an illegal artificial singularity powered drive.

"No clue, but if anyone can find out, it's you and Chapel."

"Thanks for that vote of confidence Jim, but I think we'll leave that to Dr. Stevens, she's the head shrinker, not me. As for Sanders, he's stable as far as I can tell, but we need to get him back to medical for a proper examination. It'd help if someone told me how he got sucked into a black hole and wasn't immediately crushed."

"Spock to Galileo, have all personnel been evacuated?"

"We're fine Spock, just have the med staff waiting in the shuttle bay."

"Acknowledged. I feel I must tell you that I will be filing a very blunt report on this incident Captain."

"Wouldn't expect any less buddy. Personally, I might even have to agree with you on this one. Not one of my better ideas." Jim sighed as he looked over to glance at Sanders, who was still out cold from whatever the core had done to him. That alone would have been enough to make the captain question the day's events and his role in them.

As the shuttle safely landed with a slight bump, Bones was already slamming his fist into the hatch release. "We've got two cases of possible radiation damage, and neural shock. I want both of them prepped for neurosurgery STAT!" Leonard ordered, the medical staff in the bay moving to obey his commands without needing to be told more.

As their patients were quickly whisked away on hover gurneys, McCoy switched between taking vital sign readings and pointing his finger with a barked command to anyone who he thought wasn't moving fast enough.

Taking off his helmet, Kirk slumped against the side of the shuttle next to Keleson as her team automatically followed the Doctor and his staff. Jim didn't miss the fact they were quickly joined by another Security team as they exited the bay.

"Permission to speak freely sir?"

"Granted." Kirk replied with a weary nod.

"What the hell were you thinking coming on this mission? A captain's place is on the bridge, _not_ nearly getting himself killed every other week."

Normally he'd have had a sarcastic comment ready to fire off at warp speed, but Kirk only glared up at the officer as he stood to his feet. "A captain who doesn't lead by example shouldn't be in command. If you're taking risks, then there's no excuse why I shouldn't be right there along for the ride."

"Oh, great. You're one of _those_ morons." Keleson said in understanding as she thunked the back of her head against the shuttle. "All cowboy diplomacy and heroics, without an ounce of humility in your entire body."

"You're half right, but I've learned some humility Chief." Kirk spat out as he recalled Christopher Pike saying something similar. "I've died once, can't get humbled more than that. As for being heroic..." Kirk tilted his head back and forth with a subtle smirk. "I have my moments."

"You know what a hero is sir? It's someone who gets their crew killed."

"You know what, we've both had a long day, and I'm done here. Report to sickbay and get yourself checked out."

"What about you sir?" Keleson asked, already knowing the answer but it didn't stop her to from asking anyway.

"Captain's prerogative." Jim chuckled before reaching out to slap Rebecca's shoulder, only to jerk his right hand away at the last second when he saw the dangerous gleam in her emerald eyes. He really wanted to keep that hand, so instead he walked away without a word.

Rebecca watched him go and shake her head. "Man might be a moron but he's got a good heart." She mused aloud, preferring his brand of idiocy over some other captains she had served with before.

Despite her misgivings about Kirk's way of running his ship, he had a point about being willing to put himself in the line of danger. Her last posting had had her serving under a captain who hadn't been so willing to put himself in harm's way, but he hadn't been so hesitant about those under his command. How he had gotten through the Academy was still a mystery to her. Worst of all, he fancied himself a bit of a prankster, and being her superior officer Keleson couldn't get the satisfaction of beating the tar out of the ever grinning Irish bastard.

Her thoughts instantly derailed when she caught sight of a muscular, green skinned man out of the corner of her vision. The electro shock whip in his right hand only helped to spur her decision as she instinctively pulled her rifle and aimed it at the man. Except when she fully turned to face him, he was nowhere to be found, replaced by the cowering shuttle tech who had rapidly ducked down behind a supply crate. "Sorry." Keleson muttered as she slung her rifle over her shoulder. "I think I'm gonna go to medical after all."

"Probably a good idea ma'am." The tech replied and rapidly nodded her head as she hesitantly got to her feet. "You okay Chief? What _happened_ over there?"

"Don't have the slightest idea Ensign. Let's just keep this between us, alright?" Whether Keleson was referring to herself or what had transpired, she couldn't honestly say.

"Of course ma'am." With a concerned glance towards the retreating Security Chief, the shaken young officer quickly returned his focus to the PADD in his hand.


End file.
